July 8, 2014

The last months have been very rough for Meghan and her family. As we posted back in February, Meghan  underwent biopsy surgery which came back negative. The results from her last PET scan in May showed that the tumor in her chest has begun to grow.  It increased in size by 40%.  After her chemo treatments and radiation treatment in 2012 the tumor went from 10 cm to 2 cm. On June 19th Meghan had another biopsy surgery and bone marrow biopsys done again. The surgery was much more complicated this time than last and has taken Meghan longer to recover.  The bone marrow came back negative but he tumor biopsy shows that the Hodgkins is active again. Meghan's doctor at UMMC has now referred her to be treated at Johns Hopkins as they have medication that is not available at UMMC and has been very successful in treating recurring Hodgkins Disease. We had our first meeting with her new Doctors on Friday and they are very confident that Meghan will beat this. Unfortunately the next several months are going to be very hard for her.  The treatment plan (which I will provide additional information on later this week) will involve intense chemo and a stem cell/bone marrow transplant. Sadly, Meghan will not be able to join her friends for their first year of high school, she will be homeschooled again this year and will have to post pone her trip to Hawaii again. Meghan is so strong and has such a great attitude and will get through this a WINNER.  Please continue to keep her in your prayers.

Meghan's Mom